Suicide among elderly: a systematic review

Abstract

This article aimed to perform a systematic review of suicide among the elderly. The literature review was conducted using three databases (SCOPUS, Medline/Pubmed and ISI Web of Science) using the terms suicide and elderly, suicide and older adult and suicide attempt. The publication dates were restricted between 2008 and 2013. Review or theoretical articles were excluded; only epidemiologic studies were selected. A total of 1613 references were found, but only seven met the inclusion criteria, namely articles that assessed the prevalence of suicide in elderly through retrospective cohort studies. The average study period was 7.9 years. The following average annual suicide rates were calculated: Italy (173/cases-year), New York (118.1/cases-year and 51 cases/ year-two studies), Ireland (92/cases-year), Finland (12.9/cases-year), Turkey (3.5/cases-year) and England (3/cases-year). All of the studies reported that elderly males had a higher rate of death by suicide compared to elderly females. Hanging, shooting by firearms, drowning and jumping from high places were prevalent suicide methods. Three articles reported that death by suicide was associated with the presence of psychiatric disorders, psychoactive substance use, and physical illnesses, as well as economic and emotional reasons. This review determined that the topic of suicide among the elderly is rarely discussed and that little is known about influences, causes, or prevalence of suicide among the elderly. Moreover, neither the type of health monitoring nor the medications that are used as interventions for eventual suicide victims are commonly reported in elderly populations.

The applicability of the interpersonal–psychological theory of suicide among community‐dwelling older persons

“…Older persons often use particularly lethal methods of suicide, including hanging, guns, drowning, or falling (Rahimi et al, 2015). Consequently, they have a high suicide success rate (Alves et al, 2014). Moreover, most older persons are isolated and rarely ask for help in the event of a suicide crisis, making it difficult to identify these crises early on (Kim et al, 2016).…”

“…Moreover, most older persons are isolated and rarely ask for help in the event of a suicide crisis, making it difficult to identify these crises early on (Kim et al, 2016). A complex array of factors is associated with the risk of suicide, including demographic factors (e.g., Choi et al, 2017), economic factors (e.g., Alves et al, 2014), and health problems (e.g., Mellqvist et al, 2011). For instance, the suicide rate is higher among older men than older women (Suresh et al, 2015) and among older persons who are poor (Lim & Khang, 2019) or rarely participate in economic activities (Alves et al, 2014; Kumar et al, 2015).…”

Perfil geográfico, temporal, epidemiológico e toxicológico das vítimas idosas de suicídio no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, entre 2017 e 2019

“…No entanto, considerando todos os casos de suicídio no RS, o percentual relativo aos idosos aumentou de 23,3% (2001-2015) [13] para 28,5%, representando o dobro do valor observado no estado de Mato Grosso (2015-2017) [9]. O número médio anual de óbitos por suicídio de idosos no RS (n=382) foi duas vezes superior ao registrado na Itália (2005-2010) e quatro vezes maior que o da Irlanda (1997Irlanda ( -2006 [23].…”

Pathways to Attempted Suicide as Reflected in the Narratives of People with Lived Experience

“…Losses seem to have a major influence, especially on the lives of older people, who have been identified as the most vulnerable group for suicidal behaviours (Alves et al 2014;Lapierre et al 2011). This is largely due to loneliness (Alpass and Neville 2003).…”